Forever Shattered
by xOxbabii.girl.flying.solo.xOx
Summary: Barely surviving has become my purpose, because I'm so used ot living underneath the surface." TxG. Rated M for 'mor mature' scenes... If you get my drift. ; Will eventually become a novel... :


"How long have I been in this storm? So overwhelmed by the ocean's shapeless form…" A tender and pure male voice sang softly. He paused. "Water's getting harder to tread, with these waves crashing over my head." He held his guitar close to him, his left hand on the top and his right supporting it at the bottom and softly strumming the strings with his eyes closed. "If I could just see you, everything would be alright. If I'd see you, this darkness would turn to light…"

His fingers were worn out on the tips from not playing with a pick. It felt more professional to him without the pick and just using his bare fingers. The guitar was what he knew, what he was good at. His life revolved around his music and all the other music around him. He'd been playing the guitar since he was six and had been writing songs since he was nine. "And I will walk on water. And you will catch me if I fall. And I will get lost into your eyes. I know everything will be alright. Everything is alright…"

The water pat-pat-patted on the window outside. He took a deep breath and the smell of fresh rain filled his nostrils. The balcony door was open and the curtains flapped around in the wind. "I know you didn't bring me out here to drown," he continued. "So why am I ten feet under and upside down? Barely surviving has become my purpose, because I'm so used to living underneath the surface…"

"Troy? Gabriella should be here soon. Will you please come down?" Lucille called.

Troy gently leaned the guitar against the wall. Gabriella. The name seemed to brighten his day, to make his everything change. She was the only girl he had ever loved before, the only girl that had ever made him feel this way. But she was his best friend. Only his best friend. Nothing more. Only friends. Never more. Just friends. He'd written a song for her. He'd spent hours on it and had never sung it to anyone. He'd been the only one to ever hear it and he didn't plan on letting her hear it anytime soon. She didn't need to know. He didn't want to hear that she didn't feel the same, he already knew. He didn't need the words to drag him even farther beneath the surface.

Gabriella and her mom, Maria were coming over for dinner tonight. They did that once or twice a week. Maria and Lucille, Troy's mom, were really good friends too. Sure enough, just a few moments later, the doorbell rang. He heard an excited squeal from his mother, signaling that the two must've been very happy to see each other. Try picked up his sheet music that he had just recently written and opened his dresser drawer.

"What's that?" A sweet and innocent voice asked curiously. Troy turned around. There she was. The beauty was standing in the doorway. Her dark curly hair fell down her back. Her smile was soft and pure. She was leaning against the frame of the doorway as casual as could be.

Troy looked around. "What's what?"

"That." She nodded toward his hand and made her way over to him. "What have you got there?"

"Nothing," Troy muttered, shoving the loose leaf papers into the dresser and closing it quickly.

"Don't lie to me," she said.

"I'm not lying," Troy said, shaking his head. He coughed and nervously scratched the back of his neck.

"I know you better than that," Gabriella giggled. Troy couldn't help but grin. She was so gorgeous. "C'mon. You can tell me. Is it a secret? I can keep a secret."

"It's nothing," Troy lied. "I promise." He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room. "C'mon. I'm starving."

"Hi, Mrs. Montez!" Troy greeted as they reached the foot of the stairs.

Maria Montez looked up at him. "Hi, Troy! How are you? And, please, call me Maria."

"Oh, right, sorry, Maria," Troy said. When he realized he was still holding Gabriella's hand, he immediately dropped it, feeling the warmthness and softness of her hand disappear. He felt almost empty.

"Ready to eat?" Jack Bolton asked, rubbing his hands together.

"It smells delicious!" Gabriella complimented, after taking a deep whiff of the air.

"It really does," Maria agreed.

Lucille smiled. "Well, hopefully it's as good as it smells." She lead them into the kitchen. There were already five plates set up at the table. Lucille, Jack, and Maria sat on one side of the table and Gabriella and Troy sat on the other side of the table.

"Are we going to pull out some more baby pictures of Troy?" Gabriella giggled, remembering the last dinner they'd all had together when Lucille had pulled out Troy's baby pictures.

"No!" Troy groaned, burying his face into his hands.

"Aww, is little Troysie embarrassed?" Gabriella teased.

"Well, yeah, of course. He doesn't want anyone seeing them, especially you," Jack said thoughtfully.

Troy removed his hands from his face. His face was a bright red. Oh my god, he thought. Did he really just say that?

"Why especially not me??" Gabriella asked, looking around the table, confused.

"Oh," Jack said. "Oh!" He slapped his hand across his mouth. "Did I just say that out loud?"

"Yes, you did. Why not me?" Gabriella asked.

Nobody answered her. She looked at Jack. He still had his hand over his mouth. Lucille was chewing on the bottom of her lip and she almost seemed nervous. That couldn't be right. What were they nervous about? She turned to look at her mom. Her mom's jaw was open wide. When she caught Gabriella staring at her, she shut her mouth. Gabriella then looked to Troy. He had his arms crossed on the table and his head was resting on his arms. He wasn't looking at anyone. All of the parents began cracking up laughing. Gabriella looked around, still confused.

Troy looked up, but avoided everyone's gaze. "You know what?" He stood up. "I'm not hungry anymore." He ran quickly out of the room.

"Wait, Troy!" Gabriella called after him, jumping to her feet.

"Gabriella, sweetie, he'll be fine. Just give him a moment." Lucille said.

"Yeah, you can sit back down. He'll be back. He just needs to take a quick breather." Jack added.

Maria was still laughing. Gabriella looked more confused than ever. "I don't understand."

"Nothing sweetheart," Lucille said, shaking her head. "That's a good thing that you don't get it."

"What? What do you mean? I want to know! Is it about me?" She asked.

The parents just laughed again and began talking about what just happened. Gabriella listened, but she still didn't understand. Why had Troy just left like that? Had something upset him? Had Gabriella said something? She didn't understand. And she wanted to know. She didn't want him to be hurt… If he was hurt. But if he wasn't, why did he just storm off like that?

Gabriella sat and listened to the parents talk and watched them eat for another thirty minutes before rising to her feet. "Where did he go?" She asked, more to herself than anyone else. He wouldn't be in his bedroom. Where did he go to think? She left the room without so much as an explanation. She walked out the back door and looked up into the tallest tree in the back yard. The tree house. The lights were on, meaning someone was up there. She heard the soft strumming of guitar chords and began to slowly climb the ladder, listening to him play and sing the song.

"She rolls down the window and she talks over the sound of cars that pass us by. And I don't know why but she's changed my mind," he sang. He had an amazing voice. "Would you look at her? She looks at me. She's got me thinking about her constantly. But she don't know how I feel. And she carries on without a doubt. I wonder if she's figured out that I'm crazy for this girl. Yeah, I'm crazy for this girl."

She reached the top of the ladder and hoisted herself up onto the landing. He was sitting on a stool with the guitar in his hands. She remained quiet, wanting to hear the rest. "She was the one to hold me. The night the sky fell down. And what I was thinking then when the world didn't end.. Why didn't I know what I know now?"

Gabriella listened intently, not wanting to miss a word of what he was singing. She felt a sneeze building up in her nose. "No!" She hissed. She tried to hold it in but she couldn't. "Achoo!"

Troy jumped. His hands fumbled around, hitting random chords and a weird, jumbled noise came out of the guitar. "Oh my god! Brie! How long have you been standing there?" He whispered. Somehow, without even turning around, he knew it was her. She had a certain smell, a certain feel.

She walked over to him. She knelt down on her knees in front of him. "Who is she?" She asked quietly. She held back her tears, at least until he told her who it was. He was crazy about someone, and she knew it couldn't have been her. She tried to prepare herself for what he might say.

"I can't… You know her…"

"Really well?"

"You have no idea," he murmured, shaking his head.

Gabriella silently wondered if it were Sharpay. Or maybe even Taylor. Or Kelsi. She sighed. She couldn't help it if he likes someone. She couldn't make him not like them. All she could do was stand there and watch as he found someone to love, to hold. That someone was most definitely not her. Never in a million years would it be her. "Do you love her?"

"Yeah, a lot more than she knows," he said softly. It brought a small smile to his lips, just thinking of her.

"So she doesn't know then?" Gabriella asked.

"She's clueless… I try to send her hints and things and the secret just about slipped a while ago," he replied in a low tone. "She doesn't feel the same way."

"You don't know that," she said sympathetically. Who wouldn't feel the same way? He was amazing. He was good-looking, had a nice body, he was sweet, and he could play guitar and sing. She didn't want him to go out with anyone, or like someone for that matter. "Tell her. She deserves to know."

"I don't know how…" he said.

"Just come out and say it."

"What? Like this? Gabriella Anne Marie Montez, I am head over heels in love with you. You're the last thing I think about before go to sleep at night and the first thing I think of when I wake up. You're always on my mind and in my heart. I love you so much that I can't take you not knowing anymore. It's you, Brie, it always has been and always will be."

Gabriella stared at him for a long time. Then, she blinked rapidly and swallowed hard. "Yeah. Yeah, something like that…" Their faces were only inches apart. They were so close that he could count her eyelashes. Their noses were almost touching.

"Can I kiss you?"

"Yes." Troy leaned in toward her and his lips met hers in a passionate lip-lock. They kissed for a long time, and Troy pushed her up against the wall, still kissing her furiously. Finally, the need to breathe became a necessity and they reluctantly pulled away from each other. Their foreheads were still touching as they stared into each others eyes.

"I love you, Brie."

"I love you, too, Troy."

**A/N: Whew! I know that was a lot to take in in one chapter but I had to get to the good part. I love Troy and Gabriella and when I read those stories where they're just friends for more than five chapters, I just skip ahead and look for the part where they get together. LOL! I admit it. I know it's bad but I do. They're such a cute couple and I love reading their little get togethers. So, hit the review button. I'm thinking about making this a novel, but what do you think? Is it good so far? Does it suck? Should I continue? Or just stop writing all together? Please review!**

**Thanks, XoXo**

**Jess. (: 3**

**P.S. I own nothing! I do not own HSM or the characters! I don't own the two songs either! And nor do I claim to own either of these items! All credit goes to Disney and Lifehouse. The first song is Storm by Lifehouse and the second one he sings is I'm Crazy About This Girl by Lifehouse. I am a huge fan of Lifehouse and think Lifehouse songs would sound good with Zac's voice so I'll probably be using a lot of them for when he "writes" songs and sings them. Thanks! Loveya!**


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